Originally published in 1999. James Turner's biography offers the first modern account of Norton's life and its significance, following him from his perilous travels across India as a young merchant to his role as his country's preeminent cultural critic. Turner shows how Norton developed the key ideas that still underlie the humanities--historicism and culture--and how his influence endures in America's colleges and universities because of institutions he developed and models he devised.
--Edward E. Gordon "Choice"